The travel bug is still alive...update 4 years later!!!

People are my favourite part of traveling!  All I can see on both of our faces is pure joy! I have so many photos from my trip that I love but this one is in the top 3!

So it has been more than 4 years since I set off on my world wide adventure. Since I returned I have not wrote anything on my blog. However during this time I have been on a few great adventures. Anyone that knows me well knows I could not go a whole 4 years without traveling. I have a co-worker that has been encouraging me to get my pictures off of my camera and computer and do something with them.  My first step is updating my blog and then printing some photos to add some art to my bare walls in my house. Thanks Quang for inspiring me! I am going to go back in time a bit but this is the only way to make sure I don't lose any of my amazing travel memories.

Over the next few weeks I plan to update my blog with all of my travels from the past 4 years.  My excitement and spark for travel is alive and well. My world wide adventure in 2011/2012 changed me in so many ways. Thinking back I think that my passion for travel is more present now than before I set out on my trip in 2011. That trip changed me in so many ways. Before I left I knew that I would gain a deeper knowledge and appreciation for people and customs of the world. What I did not know is that learning about one culture just fuels the fire to want to learn more. What I value most about my trip was spending time with locals in each country. I hope to continue to make this part of my future travels whenever possible!

My life has changed drastically since I wrote my last blog post. In this time I moved back to Cincinnati where I worked for a year. I am very thankful for this year. It allowed me to have a significant amount of time for reflection about my trip, as well as allowing me time for forward thinking about my future. After this year I made the big decision to move back to Canada. It was something I had been thinking about for a while but  the timing finally felt right.  The move was not easy and there are many moments in my first few months back that I would never want to relive. Moving to a new country as an adult, even if you have lived there as a child is not easy. My largest struggle was finding a job, but I am happy to say after many months of applying it all worked out. Some time people say "it was worth the wait" and this is true for me. I had a few bumps along the way but I am thankful now to work at a job I love with a group of colleagues who are amazing. I am so thankful that I did not give up on my goal.  In 2015 I bought a house. As I sit on my couch writing this I am sometimes still shocked that I did this, as it means that I have committed to living in one place for a while.  I have been called a nomad before and many friends were shocked I was settling in one place. I am happy with the decision, but remind others and myself that buying a house does not mean I will no longer have adventures they will just look a bit different! I think I will have the travel bug for life.

So that is my short life update. I will be posting my travels updates through out the next few weeks. My goal is  to stay up to date after this. I made this blog with the plan to just use it for my world trip. I know now that this trip will never be over. I plan to spend my life exploring the amazing planet we live on. 

I can't believe it is over, so thankful for every moment of my Adventure!

April 11 2012

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover" - Mark Twain

This could not be more true. I have EXPLORED the unknown, lived a DREAM, and DISCOVERED how to be truly happy. I feel so thankful to have had the opportunity to be challenged and pushed out of my comfort zone over the past 6 months.   I now know that nervousness, uncertainty and excitement all create avenues for growth . I have been able to stretch and push myself pass my personal boundaries and this has allowed me so much joy and amazement.

Today my trips comes full circle. I wrote my first post while I was flying on my first leg of my journey and now I am writing this on on my last. I will not say my last post since I know I have so much more traveling in my future.  I can't believe how fast the last 6 months have gone by. The thought of going home is both exciting and scary. I have enjoyed every moment of this trip and will cherish every memory and friendship made. I can now say that every bit of stress and anxiety I felt before I left was completely worth it. I just hope life is not quite as stressful when I come home. However if it is I know I can handle it. I can not say that every single moment was perfect and amazing on my journey, but I can say that I don't regret a single moment of it. Even the rough times are something I am thankful for whether it was because it is now a funny story to tell or the growth that came out a meeting a challenge.

Before I left I was terrified to be on my own. In retrospect I am so thankful for the opportunity to be one my own. I could not be happier that I did this trip on my own. I proved something to myself about my ability to handle even the craziest things on my own.  I would not say that it was easy but I would recommend it to others. I had many opportunities as a result of being on my own and I am so thankful for this. I know that I was independent before I left but I think that I have become more independent. I hope this is not a bad thing. Don't worry I am just as social as ever I just now feel very comfortable doing things on my own.








I have been asked many times already what my favorite place was. This is an impossible questions to answer. Each place had it's distinct experiences that make it unique and meaningful to me.  However I do have a few distinct experiences that were amazing and I will never forget.  These are all moments I do not want to forget so I will write them down, so here it goes:

·      Teaching  "If You're Happy and You Know it " and "10 little Monkey Jumping on the Bed"  to the kids at Joy Day Care

·         Weekend in Sihanoukville

·         Angkor Wat with Dawn and Justin

·         Riding Elephants at the Elephant Village

·         Everything Luang Prabang

·         A day at the beach with the Children from Achaise Children's Home

·          Christmas Day at Achaise Children's Home

·         When every child at Achaise Children's Home was HIV negative

·         Dune Bashing

·         Spending time with Julia and Molly

·         Trip to Cornwall

·         Day in Tuscany

·         Hiking at the Cliff's of Moher and the Giant's Causeway

·         Spending time with Zach and Leo

I have a million other amazing moments so if you want to know more just ask

I know people said before I left that I would change while I was on this trip. I am not sure I can define any distinct changes but I do know that I have some new perspectives on life. I guess only time will show how this experience has impacted me. Either way I am thankful for the opportunity. I hope this experience will continue to impact both my decision making and insight. I know this trip has been influential but I would love to know what the future has in store for me. I hoped this trip would give me more clarity about my life. I am not sure that I have my life figured out but I now know how important it is to follow my heart and focus on making myself happy.

Through this experience I have had the opportunity to meet the most amazing people. I feel so blessed to have met so many new and amazing people who will continue to be part of my life.  I am also thankful for the opportunity I had to spend time with many of my friends that live abroad. I know spending as much time with them as I did was a luxury and something that will likely not be possible again. Thank you to every who opened their home to me. This includes both new and old friends. Spending time in people's homes throughout my travels has made this experience all that more meaningful. 

Looking back I feel like the most meaningful time during my trip was my time volunteering. I am so thankful for every moment I spent volunteering, even the really frustrating days. Spending time with so many amazing children will be something I never forget.  I would highly recommend everyone, experience living in a developing country and spend some time volunteering. I got so much more out of these experiences than I gave. I already have my next  trip volunteering planned. I hope I can make it happen! It is funny I thought that this trip would get the travel bug out of me and I would be ready to start a long term career plan, but the opposite has happened. Don't worry I am not going to travel forever, but I can't wait to go on another trip (it just might have to be a bit shorter than this one). This is especially true since I can't wait to do another volunteer placement in a developing country. I love the way my volunteer positions pushed me out of my comfort zone, I am so thankful for this.  Anyone want to go to Kenya and Tanzania with me in the next 2 or 3 years.  If that does not interested you I have a list a mile long of countries I now want to visit. I know I will always be up for a new adventure! This adventure has shown me taking risks is totally worth it.

"You only live once but if you do it right once is enough"  - Mae West

Final Days with Good Friends

April 11 2012

The last few days of my trip were full of more sights and good times. I enjoyed every moment of the time I spent with Caz and her family.  I am very lucky to have the opportunity to visit them twice. I feel so lucky to have been able to spend so much time with her two beautiful children. I will be forever grateful to both her and Brett for their generosity and support. I am so lucky to have amazing friends who appreciate my crazy lifestyle and love me just the same.

Here are some of the highlights:

Girls night out!

Birthday Celebrations

Location of Olympic Rowing

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Central Tower

Zach with is awesome crown

The landscaping was amazing!!!

Towers outside the State Apartments

Changing of Guards

Changing of the Guards

St. George's Chapel

My 20's were awesome... I can't wait to see what my 30's will bring!



Ghana

It's April 8th, so this date means two things, one that I turn 30 and the second being that my adventure is nearly over. Only 3 days left! I have really taken my 20's out with a bang, and I would not have it any other way. When I left this day seemed so far away and now it is here. It is very bitter sweet. I am excited to come home and see everyone but I am not ready for my trip to end and go back to real life again. When I left for my trip I was totally freaked out about turning 30, but truthfully I feel good about it today. I guess the last 6 months has given me some perspective. I have seen so much over the past few months and know that all that really matters is being happy.  I really can't ask for much more in life. I have health and so many people around me that love and care about me. I am truly one lucky girl.  I know it will be harder to keep this perspective when I get home but I hope that I can find a way.





Cambodia

 
 


Scotland



UAE

I have had lots of opportunity to think throughout my trip and I know by far the best part of my trip has been the amazing people I have been able to interact with. I will be forever changed by my experiences during this trip and the people I have spent it with are in large part the reason I have had such an amazing time. I have truly been able to experience the giving spirit of people all around the world. This has come in so many forms, anything from amazing conversations with complete strangers to spending time in people homes. I have felt so much love and excitement from all of the people I am interacting with on my trip it is incredible. I also know I have so much love from my friends and family at home. I often feel like I could explode with all the positivity I am feeling. I hope I can bring this feeling home with me. I can't wait to see what exciting things await me as I head home and begin life in my 30's.








Always something new in London

April 7 2012

I can't seem to get enough of London. I really do love the city. I have been to London many times and discover something new every time. I had a great time meeting up with friends I have met around the world. I met up with both Lia who I met in Laos and Shammi who I met in Ghana. I can't forget the fact that I went on one more New Europe Tour. This brings many grand total up to 5. I heard lots of cool stories about London along the way. Check out my favourite later in this post.

So I visited Pax Lodge which is one of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girls Scouts World Center. I figured since i have been travelling the world and I was in a place with a World Center why not got for a visit. I went on a pretty cool tour and learned lots.

Pax Lodge

Market in Camden Town

Old Stable, now market

Guardian of Peace

Wellington Arch

Guard on horse back

So on the tour I was on I heard the story of Michael Fagan. I was unsure if the story was true so I asked my friend's mom and she said yes the crazy story did happen. I am not sure all of the details I have are correct but here is the general idea. Micheal Fagan was a homeless man who broke into Buckingham Palace. He evaded royal security, and made it all the way into Queen Elizabeth II’s royal bedroom. He wandered around the Palace for a while before randomly wandering into her room (he choose this one out of the 200 bedrooms), finding the wine cellar along the way and stopping for a drink. While he was breaking in he cut himself so when the Queen woke up, a strange man was sitting on her bed bleeding every where. It is said that because the alarm system was turned off when the Queen hit her panic button nothing happen. He spent some time in her room before he asked for a cigarette which she replied with I will have my footman bring you one. This is how she eventually got help. I wonder what kind of small talk the queen and a homeless man have? It is said that the alarm system was turned off as it was going off everywhere and security felt it must just be not working correctly, when in all actuality there was a random man walking around Buckingham Palace. The best part is that Buckingham Palace was at this point public property so once he was arrested he had almost no punishment. He was only charged with theft for drinking the wine and property damage for breaking a window. The laws are not changed and it is no longer public property, so don't try this now, you wont be so lucky.

Gates we given to London by Canada

Buckingham Palace

Balcony of the Famous William and Kate kiss

Why am I so shocked I knew the picture was coming

Trafalgar Square

Count down until London Olympic Games

Location where the Queen's Birthday is held and also will be
 the location of the Beach Volleyball for the Olympics.

Big Ben

West Minster Abby

West Minster Abby

Sights of London- London Eye and Big Ben

Houses of Parliament

Houses of Parliament

Houses of Parliament

London Icon

London Icon

This food market is amazing.
I am now in love with Cinnamon Chocolate Almonds!

Check out some of the super cool eggs that were painted and displayed around Covent Gardens.

Easter in London

Where on the map and I today?

I think this was my favourite